Before the pandemic, I didn’t drive my car a lot. I work at home and my workouts are very close to my house. But I did drive most days, even if it was for a quick thing. I went to Orangetheory 4 times a week and I was usually doing errands at least 3 days a week. And there were other things like auditions or going to union events that required driving. It was pretty unheard of for me to go an entire week without driving somewhere.
But once the safer at home orders started, my driving became even more limited. I wasn’t going to my workouts. I rarely ran errands on my own because I was getting groceries and supplies delivered to me. I did have to drive for some specific things, but I easily went a week without driving at all. And because I don’t want my car battery to die, I have to make plans to just go out and drive my car from time to time. I don’t always have to do this if I run errands or have appointments that I have to drive to, but it has happened a few times over the past few months. If I know I’ll be going 2 weeks without driving, I do a random drive. And that’s exactly what I did this past weekend.
I debated about driving around to see something fun or going to the beach again, but since it was the weekend and I know more people are out and about, I didn’t want to have to worry about traffic. I ended up not really driving anywhere. I drove around Culver City and the surrounding neighborhoods. I wanted to be driving for at least 15 minutes and I did that. I know I did just waste gas, but I’m also not getting gas for my car that often. I usually fill my car up once a month, but now I think it’s only been twice since March. So I can afford to waste a little.
While I was driving around, I noticed how dirty my car was. I do have a parking space at my house, but it’s not covered. So my car gets dusty or covered in pollen after a while. Since my car is gray, it doesn’t show that much. But while I was driving it really was bugging me. My normal car wash place is somewhere that you get out of your car and the employees take it through the car wash and do the detail work, but I didn’t feel comfortable going there. I wouldn’t mind someone else driving my car, but I didn’t want to have to sit in a waiting area with other people for my car to be done. And I didn’t want to go to a place where you wash your own car (again, I didn’t want to be out around other people). So the best option would be a drive-thru car wash where I stay in the car.
I actually haven’t done a drive-thru car wash in LA, so I had no clue where to go. I posted on social media asking for suggestions of places to go, and one of my friends told me about a car wash that is only a few blocks from my house. I’ve driven past it hundreds of times, but never looked into it. But since it was recommended, I decided to go there.
And honestly, it was fun doing it. It was a lot cheaper than my normal car wash place (but also not as great of a car wash and the inside of my car didn’t get cleaned) and it was so fun sitting in my car going through the car wash. They have different colored lights inside so the soap looks really pretty. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because I don’t have anything else going on in my life, but that’s ok. This entertained me and that’s what counts. The car wash was only a minute or two before it was done and I was on my way back home.
Considering that this was just a drive to make sure my car battery didn’t die, it was a fun way to spend a bit of time. I did some exploring around my neighborhood, got my car washed, and now I know that my car won’t be dead when if I need to use it this week or next week.
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